Separated by the Border

In 2017 five-year-old Julia traveled with her mother, Guadalupe, from Honduras to the United States. Her harrowing journey took her through Mexico in the cargo section of a tractor trailer. Then she was separated from her mother, who was held hostage by smugglers who exploited her physically and financially. At the United States border, Julia came through the processing center as an unaccompanied minor after being separated from her stepdad who was deported.

Gena Thomas tells the story of how Julia came to the United States, what she experienced in the system, and what it took to reunite her with her family. A Spanish-speaking former missionary, Gena became Julia's foster mother and witnessed firsthand the ways migrant children experience trauma. Weaving together the stories of birth mother and foster mother, this book shows the human face of the immigrant and refugee, the challenges of the immigration and foster care systems, and the tenacious power of motherly love.



Gena Thomas is a writer and speaker who works at a nonprofit that empowers others through holistic development. She served as a missionary in northern Mexico for four years, holds a master's degree in international development, and is the author of A Smoldering Wick: Igniting Missions Work with Sustainable Practices. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband, Andrew, and their two children.

Foreword by Michelle Ferrigno Warren


Introduction: Julia
Part I: Honduras


1. Emigración


2. Expatriation
Part II: Mexico


3. Río Bravo


4. Rio Grande
Part III: United States


5. Unaccompanied Minor


6. Dependent Children


7. Foster Daughter


8. "Quién Es Usted a Mi?" ("Who Are You to Me?")
Part IV: Honduras


9. Reunification/Reunificación


10. Reflections


Epilogue: Dear Julia


Acknowledgments


Appendix A: A Note to Other Foster Parents


Appendix B: An Interview with Elí Romero


Appendix C: Small-Group Discussion Questions


Notes


Glossary


Recommended Reading

"Today's faith-based communities are being called to help God's children. Gena Thomas's story of how she answered this call is both powerful and inspirational. At the same time, she sheds light and brings awareness to the realities of how children continue to suffer around the globe and how we can all help even the least of these, God's children in need. Separated by the Border is a book that will empower and inspire the reader."



"God commands his people to care for those vulnerable to injustice—particularly, immigrants and children. Gena Thomas and her family faithfully responded to these biblical injunctions by welcoming a five-year-old foster girl from Honduras into their home. In Separated by the Border, Gena weaves together her own story with the story of this precious girl and the brave mother from whom she was separated in the course of a perilous journey to the United States. In the process, she puts human faces on the complex but often politicized issues of immigration, asylum seekers, and foster care. Separated by the Border is a gripping, gracefully written story that the American church needs to hear."



"In one powerful book Gena Thomas shares the trauma, hope, and love that is the migration of men, women, and children in today's world. Wrapped around her own experience as a foster parent, Thomas helps us understand why one flees their home country, even though they want to return. It is truly a remarkable book."



"Gena's story, Julia's story, and Lupe's story have been stewarded in a beautifully delicate yet prophetic calling out in this book's telling. . . . This book is one of the most compelling and practical ways to say yes to those who need it most."



"Welcoming strangers is dangerous. All sorts of things might happen: it might radically alter your understanding of the world, change your politics, or your relationships. It will certainly affect your relationship with God. Gena Thomas's book is testament to the wonderfully transforming power of hospitality. I recommend her story to you as a daring and dangerous read."



"When headlines and public policy debates filter down to the story of one mother, one child, and one US citizen willing to walk through the process, our focus changes from the macro to the micro. A story of grief, pain, politics, faith, endurance, laughter, separation, and reunification, this steps us out of the policy debate and into the individual experience. I wholeheartedly recommend Gena Thomas as a voice that has walked through real, sacrificial relationships using her Christian faith as a guide for each step of the process. If we want to understand how the policies and politics of the immigration debate impact real people, this is the place to start. This is a humanizing story that takes us beyond the talking points."



"Gena Thomas is a maestra tejedor (master weaver) who intertwines the tales of two courageous mothers with the threads of theology, history, and politics to produce a brilliant tapestry that skillfully exposes both the injustice of immigration and the wonder of restoration. Reader beware: this book will necessarily shatter your heart. Yet, it won't produce paralysis. Rather, Separated by the Border will grow your capacity to love beyond boundaries, borders, complexities, and documentation statuses. For the sake of our divided world, I commend this book with hope."



"In Separated by the Border, we witness the fierce, unwavering love of two mothers. In their eyes, we see glimpses of the heart for all of God's beloved children. Sobering and compelling, their story inspires us to step more fully into a life of dangerous and courageous love."



"In Separated by the Border, Gena Thomas skillfully weaves a story of heartbreak and hope in a world overflowing with cultural chaos. Yet this story is real, filled with helpful context and pointed commentary about little Julia and her family's lived experience. I found myself drawn in from the first chapter as Gena helped me understand and care about the complex terrain of family separation, asking me to follow her own brave soul into the place of being willing to do something about it. I pray this book makes it into the hands of those wrestling with their heads and hearts over immigration, deportation, separation, and reunification. Gena's words will help us rise and do what is right!" weniger anzeigen expand_less